Warren: We are living in an age of anxiety - stresses are piling up and the young lack skills to cope

We all experience periods of anxiety in our lives. Feeling some anxiety in response to events like writing exams, getting married, starting a new job or an unexpected financial loss is natural.

But more and more people in this country, and around the world, are suffering from symptoms of anxiety even when these stressors are not occurring in their daily lives. They have lost control over how their bodies and minds react to normal, everyday stress.

It’s immobilizing thousands of young and adult Canadians who are suffering from various forms of anxiety disorder. The symptoms include excessive worry, trouble sleeping, panic attacks, nausea, muscle tension, trauma flashbacks and nervousness in social settings.

Anxiety turns into a disorder when its sensations and symptoms interfere with normal life.

The problem begins with our young people. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health conducted a study involving more than 10,000 students in Grades 7 through 12 in 220 schools across Ontario. It examined the prevalence of anxiety symptoms, such as feeling nervous, hopeless, worthless or depressed.

The findings are disturbing. One-third of students in the survey were found to have moderate to severe symptoms of physiological distress. That’s up from two years earlier when one-quarter suffered the same levels of mental illness. And 14 per cent of students met the criteria for “serious” physiological distress, up from 10 per cent only a few years ago.

Older teens spend more than five hours daily on social media, which is known to have mental health effects as users worry about its overwhelming demands. They’re also concerned about student debt, job prospects, a diminished sense of safety and the depressing state of the world with commonplace bombings, shootings, famine and the killing of innocent civilians.

Part of the problem is parents who try to bring up their children in anxiety-free bubbles. When those children eventually enter the world on their own, they’re ill-equipped to deal with the conveyer belt of challenges in everyday life. They lack the necessary problem-solving skills.

Only one in five young people get the mental health help they need. Dr. Robert Mann, the head researcher for the Centre for Addiction study, says improving the mental health literacy of teenagers has the potential to deliver similar results as early intervention and education programs in schools had in lowering substance abuse among teenagers over the last two decades.

For adults, the main source of anxiety is money. Little wonder. The Canadian Payroll Association 2017 survey finds spending levels and debt remain high. Nearly half of our overall workforce is living paycheque to paycheque. And “despite some economic gains, most employed Canadians continue to fall short of meeting their retirement savings goals,” the survey reports.

Hanging over all this is the rising cost of living and real possibility of either an interest rate increase or a major economic turndown.

The association acknowledges people have difficulty changing or reducing their spending habits. It suggests setting up an automatic payroll deduction of 10 per cent of net income. In other words, pay yourself first before you pay others.

That’s helpful, but it doesn’t take away the anxiety that comes with job-killing automation, stagnant wages, rising prices and an uncertain economic future.

Money anxiety is prevalent among millennials in particular.

More than a quarter of them say financial stress affects their job performance — more than twice the rate of the general population. Anxiety over money made a quarter of millennials feel physically ill and more than half feel depressed according to a U.S. study.

Money isn’t the only omnipresent source of anxiety. The Geopolitical Anxiety Index (GAI) measures the number of news stories that cover 10 different geopolitical risks topics. The current reading shows anxiety is at the highest point since the Arab Spring in 2011.

The investment bank JPMorgan told its clients recently, “Since President Trump’s election, news coverage around topics such as war, terrorism and cyber-attacks has surged.”

There is some good news for Canadians. We appear to be less stressed over the economy than those in most other countries, including the United States. (The most stressed areas of the world continue to be the Middle East and Africa.)

This year is going down as a good year for the Canadian economy. Annualized growth of about 2.5 per cent and 290,000 jobs created thus far is encouraging. Unemployment is low at 6.1 per cent and the bankruptcy rate has slowed.

For those struggling to pay their bills and manage down debt, the experts agree on three things. First, acknowledge you have a problem. Second, seek professional help. And finally, start paying yourself first.

But it will take more than a modest economy to help the thousands of young Canadians who desperately need easier access to better mental health services.

Children’s Mental Health Ontario’s latest survey found nearly half of 18- to 34-year-olds missed school due to issues related to anxiety. Half of those who sought help didn’t receive it or are still waiting. And parents miss work trying to look after children waiting months for counselling.

The CMHO is pressing the province to invest $125 million in community-based mental health centres, staffing and services for children and youth.

In this age of anxiety, this is the least we can do for those who have inherited the tension-filled world we have created.

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